Eccentricity forcing on tropical ocean seasonality

Abstract

The amount of radiative energy received at the Earth's surface depends on two factors: Earth–Sun distance and sunlight angle. Because of the former, high-eccentricity cycles can induce the appearance of seasons in the tropical ocean. In this paper, we use the Earth system model IPSL-CM5A2 to investigate the response of the low-latitude ocean to variations in Earth's orbit eccentricity. Sea surface temperature (SST) and primary production (PP) were simulated under six precession configurations at high eccentricity and two configurations at low eccentricity, representing extreme configurations observed over the past 1 million years. Results show that high eccentricity leads to increased seasonality in low-latitude mean SST, with an annual thermal amplitude of approximately 2.2 °C (vs. 0.5 °C at low eccentricity). Low-latitude mean PP, which already exhibits inherent seasonality under low-eccentricity conditions, sees its seasonality largely increased under high eccentricity. As a consequence, we show that on long timescales the intensity of SST seasonality exhibits only the eccentricity frequency, whereas that of PP additionally follows precession dynamics. Furthermore, the seasonal variations in both SST and PP at high eccentricities are influenced by the annual placement of the perihelion with its direct impact of radiative energy received in tropical regions. This leads to a gradual and consistent transition of seasons within the calendar. We introduce the concept of “eccentriseasons”, referring to distinct annual thermal differences observed in tropical oceans under high-eccentricity conditions, which shift gradually throughout the calendar year. These findings have implications for understanding low-latitude climate phenomena such as the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and monsoons in the past.